Our first night Lilly and I were invited to join the Uz family for dinner (seated all around us, we are in the back left corner). These are old and dear friends of mine from my first year in Turkey. The kindness they have always shown me they have extened to Lilly and made us feel so welcome. We spent the whole night feasting, talking, and joking. It really was a the perfect way to start our trip to this wonderful country.
We ate at the Palmiye Et Lokantasi on the asian side a short cab ride from Kadikoy. This kebab resturuant set in a breezy and pleasant garden was a great way for us to sample lots of different Turkish delicacies. Although it is far from the tourist areas we would recommend it to anyone willing to make the trek.
We started the evening with a selection of cold salads. Eggplant, cucumber, and a plate of sheeps milk cheese. But the most interesting was Ci Kofte (bottom left) which is a raw lamb meat ball cured in spices and eaten wrapped in a lettuce leaf with fresh squeezed lemon. All this was complimented by lavash bread that came hot and steaming to the table and which Tufan proudly popped with his pinky.
Next we had lamacun, which is ground lamb meat and vegies on thin grilled bread.
Then ofcourse Icli Kofte. A lamb meat ball wrapped in a corn batter and lightly fried. This was Lilly's favorite of the evening
Lest we forget the rice stuffed eggplants that showed up too...
But only then did the real meat arrive. Lamb five ways: shish, doner, Adana spiced, off the rib and slow-cooked with pistacio.
All this was washed down with spicy fermented carrot juice called Salgam.
All this ofcourse still leaves room for dessert. Lilly and I had Kunife. This is a particular favorite of mine. It uses the sweet honey syrup of many ottoman desserts but incorporates a layer of tangy cheese. It is one of the most uniqe desserts Ive ever had. It is also served warm so the cheese melts again.
After this we taught Lilly her first Turkish phrase: cok doydum (I'm very full).
